LONG CAREERS 2023. The text of the pension reform could be relaxed after a first concession from Elisabeth Borne. The debates will continue in the National Assembly for 15 days.
[Mis à jour le 7 février 2023 à 09h09] The long career system is at the center of the pension reform debates. He is too, at theNational Assembly since Monday January 6 for two weeks of intense discussions. As a reminder, this device allows you to benefit from an early departure if you started working before the age of 16 or 20, provided you have contributed 5 quarters before this age, or 4 if you were born at the end of the year. Problem, the opposition remains in total disagreement with the majority concerning the gradual decline of the legal age from 62 to 64 years, and the acceleration of the rate of increase in the duration of insurance. This is why the Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne dropped the ballast last weekend by indicating that the government was going to move on the question, and allow those who started to work before 21 years old to go to 63 years old. A concession like an outstretched hand to the deputies The Republicans, which appear to be the only alliance solution for the majority, with a view to adopting the text without going through force. This gesture on the part of the number 2 of the government concerns 30,000 peopleand could cost up to 1 billion euros per year.
As a reminder, the executive also wishes to create a new level, at 18 years old, to allow as many people as possible to retire earlier, in this case, from the age of 60. To benefit from it, it is necessary to have contributed 43 annuities and 172 quarters. However, the decline in the legal age should make some big losers. Indeed, the contribution period could increase from 43 years, as provided for in the text of the reform, to 44 years for some, despite starting work early. Let’s take a concrete example. A woman born in 1973 and having started working at the age of 17 can currently leave at the age of 60 at the full rate, if she has contributed 43 annuities. With the pension reform, she will have to contribute 44 annuities (one year of increase), for a departure at 61, and no longer 60. Also, she will have to contribute 176 quarters, and no longer 172. Women could also be among the losers. According to a government impact study, a woman will have to work on average 7 months longer with the reform, compared to 5 additional months for men. And up to 9 months longer for a woman born in 1972, four months longer than a man.
Through this pension reform, the government promises a new device “adapted, so that no person who started working early is forced to work over 44 years”. Here is the new retirement age, based on your starting age. Attention, to benefit from this early departure, it is mandatory to have validated at least 5 terms before the age of 20, 4 if you were born at the end of the year:
- 58 years old : if you started working at 14 years old
- 59 years old : if you started working at 15 years old
- 60 years : if you started working at 16 years old
- 61 years old : if you started working at 17 years
- 62 years old : if you started working between 18 and 20 years old
- 63 years old : if you started working before 21 years old
To benefit from early retirement for a long career, you must have started working before 20 years. Two other conditions prevail. First, your pension insurance period must include, all compulsory basic schemes combined, a minimum number of quarters contributed. Also, you must have acquired a minimum number of quarters of retirement insurance at the start of your career. These 2 conditions for the duration of pension insurance vary according to your year of birth, the age from which you started working and the age from which you plan to take early retirement.
The 2023 pension reform slightly modified the system for long careers by introducing a new level, set at 18 years. From now on, if you started working before the age of 18, it will be possible to retire at age 60, i.e. four years earlier (if you contributed at least 44). As mentioned above, the earlier you started working, the earlier you can retire.
Another potential novelty, to compensate for choppy careers, the periods validated under the old-age insurance for stay-at-home parents (AVPF), in particular due to parental leave, could be part of the long career system. The persons concerned could therefore validate up to four additional quarters in this situation. Periods which would also be counted in the calculation of the increased minimum pension. This should increase the amount of small pensions for some women, forced to put their career on hold to take care of their child(ren).
The national pension fund for local authority employees (CNRACL) is the pension fund for the basic scheme of local government and hospital employees. It is a public administrative institution of the State, it is managed by the Pensions and Solidarity Department of Caisse des Dépôts. Note that the conditions for obtaining a “long career” pension are exactly the same as for other civil servants.